Holder for playing cards



16, 954 E. A. lVEY 2,694,576

HOLDER FOR PLAYING CARDS Filed May 16, 1952 1 3 INVENTOR V Y 20 I8 ELSIE A I E E ,4 WWW ATTORNEY Fatented Nov. 16, 1954 ice HGL ER F91 PLAYING CARDS Elsie A. lvey, Washington, D. (1.

Application May 16, 1952, Serial No. 238,255

1 Claim. (Cl... 273-l This invention relates to a holder for laying cards or the like, and more particularly relates to a holder which is adapted to hold the cards in spread formation so that at least a portion of each of the cards can be seen by an observer.

It has long been recognized that the only truly effective way to display a group of cards to hold them in a fan-shaped position so that at least part of every card can be seen. The cards may be used for display purposes in a store window, for advertising as in a give-away campaign or they may be professional name cards which are most advantageously displayed in an arcuate or fan-shaped arrangement on a table or desk. The most popular use for such a card arrangement, however, is in the case of playing cards. Many of the new and increasingly popular card games use two or more decks and make it a necessity for each player to hold an unwieldy number of cards in his hand. When, in addition, the player desires to use one of his hands to hold a cigarette, cigar or pipe, and the other of his hands to hold a glass or a piece of food, he finds that he is greatly inconvenienced if he must also hold and play out his cards at the same time.

It is, therefore, an object of this invention to provide a card holding means which will effectively hold a group of cards in spread or open formation and yet leave a player free to use both his hands for other purposes.

Another object of this invention is to provide a card holder which will firmly and effectively hold either one or a group of cards in an upright position in front of an observers eyes.

Another object of this invention is to provide a means for displaying a group of cards in a pleasing manner for advertising purposes.

Other objects of this invention are to provide a device of the character described which can be easily and economically produced and which will be highly efficient in operation.

With these and other objects in view which will become more apparent as the description proceeds, the

invention resides in the construction, combination and arrangement of parts, hereinafter more fully described and claimed, and which are illustrated in the accompanying drawin wherein similar reference characters refer to similar parts:

Fig. 1 is a rear elevational view of the invention.

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the device shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken on the line 33 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the upper portion of the stem.

Fig. 5 is a view taken on the line 5-5 of Fig. 4.

Referring in greater detail to the drawing there is shown in Fig. 1 a stand which comprises a base 12 and a cylindrical stern portion 14 which is integral with and extends up from the base 12. The base 12 is of flanged design and is provided with flutes or corrugations 16 which not only provide a decorative device on the base but also act as strengthening ribs. A notch or slot 18 is provided in the upper portion of stem 14, this notch extending from the top surface of the stem to a substantial distance down from this top surface. The bottom of the slot 18 is formed as an inverted V in cross-section and is indicated at 28.

Set into the notch or slot 18 is a card holding member 22 which consists of an elongated rear wall 24 and a foreshortened front wall 26. The front and rear walls are integral with each other and are formed by bending a sheet into a substantial U-shape as shown at 2.8. The upper edge of front wall 26 is straight. The upper edge of the rear wall 24 is arcuate as illustrated at 31), and the bottom edges of the walls are of an inverted J-shape as indicated. The inverted V- shape or" the bottom edge is adapted to mate with and on the inverted Vehaped bottom 20 of the notch 13. The walls 24 and 26 are also integral with each other at their outer ends as indicated at 34 and 36.

Altogether, the holding member forms an arcuate member which is completely enclosed except for the p edge which is in the nature of a slot as indicated 38, this slot having one wall higher than the other.

. is into this slot 33 that a group of cards are inserted in spread formation. The high rear wall 24 acts as a rest for the cards while the low front walls 26 allows the face of the cards to be exposed.

The holding member 22 may be constructed of any desired material. it is preferable that a resilient material such as sheet metal, rubber or certain types of plastic such as polyethylene be used since they will exert a clamping action at the lower portion of the cards. However, any desired material such as cardboard, wood or like substances may be used if desired.

Although the preferred embodiment of this invention here been described in great detail, desired changes in construction, combination and arrangement of parts may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as described and claimed.

Having thus set forth and disclosed the nature of this invention, what is claimed is:

A card holding device for holding a group of playing cards in spread formation with each card visible to the player comprising a vertical standard having a supporting base at its bottom and an inverted V- notch at its top, a card holding member comprising a front wall having a straight top edge, a rear wall joined to said front wall and having an arcuate top edge having its ends connecting to the ends of the straight top edge of the front wall and having an intermediate portion extending thereaoove, the lower edges of said front and rear walls being joined together in two depending card holding V-shaped pockets providing an inverted V-shaped notch therebetween, the apex of said inverted f-shaped notch being spaced below the upper straight edge of said front wall, said card holding member being supported on said standard with its inverted V-notch extending in said inverted V-notch of said vertical standard and with its V-shaped card holding pockets connected together through said V- shaped notch.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,286,780 Ribeyre Dec. 3, 1918 1,634,696 Teneau July 5, 1927 1,756,894 Kramer Mar. 18, 1930 1,878,717 Schwartz Sept. 20, 1932 2,164,318 Graunke July 4, 1939 2,520,490 Boward Aug. 29, 1950 2,564,315 Stark Aug. 14, 1951 

